A U.S. official has said that CIA funded weapons are reaching Syrian rebels, confirming the details first reported by the Washington Post. The weapons are funded and ordered by the CIA, although they are not made in America. The official said: “That is something we are not going to dispute, but we are not going to publicly speak to it.”
The Syrian National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army have denied the claims, and Louay al-Mokdad, Political and Media Coordinator for the Free Syrian Army, said: “We have some promises from the U.S. Administration of shipment of weapons in a short period of time, but until now we have not received any.” He added, “We have logistical help, but we didn’t get weapons until now. We hope that in the next short period of time we will start receiving weapons, because we have promises from EU countries and the U.S. that they will help us and support us.”
The U.S. has been supplying aid to the rebels in April, but it has been non-lethal. Items included body armor, night vision goggles and equipment.
